


Take My Hand, Take My Heart

by profound-boning (farawaystardust)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Fluff, Growing Up Together, Kid Castiel, Kid Dean Winchester, Kid Fic, M/M, No Angst, POV Alternating, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 10:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7637203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farawaystardust/pseuds/profound-boning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>The pair got to run and play and eat a picnic dinner of hot dogs and Cheetos before they needed to sit down for the show.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s much louder than Dean had been expecting and, well, he's a little worried.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the SPN Writing Challenge. July theme: summer. My prompt: picnic.
> 
> Thank you to my beta [amity](http://savingpeoplegiffingthings.tumblr.com/) xo

The fireworks whizz, pop, crackle, and explode into the dark night sky.

Prior to the start of the show, Dean had boasted his bravery for all to hear.

"I'm six and a half now," he'd said, puffing his little chest out. "I'm not afraid!"

"I know sweetheart." Mary had affectionately replied. "Will you be ready to go soon? We don't want to be late."

Dean had rushed to find his second shoe and was the first to reach the door when the bell rang. Now both the Winchester and the Novak families are sitting in the grass of the local park. Amelia had laid out the two blankets, one for the grown ups plus little Sammy and a smaller one for Dean and Castiel. The pair got to run and play and eat a picnic dinner of hot dogs and Cheetos before they needed to sit down for the show.

It's much louder than Dean had been expecting and, well, he's a little worried.

"Cas," he whispers, leaning over to touch Cas's shoulder with his own.

"Yes, Dean?" Cas responds, not moving his eyes from the sparkling lights above.

"Um, it's—" He flinches when a particularly loud boom rings out. "Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa." Cas is wearing that gummy grin like when he gets a gold star on his math homework or sees a bumblebee in his garden. "They're amazing!"

"Y—yeah." Dean twists his hands in his lap. Of course, Cas notices.

"Dean?" Cas's full attention is on Dean now.

When Dean turns his head to meet Cas's gaze, he's relieved to see only friendliness in those large blue eyes.

"I—I'm thinkin' it's a little…louder than I thought. Not scary! M'not scared."

"I know that Dean," Cas says. The boys sit quietly for another moment. Dean squeezes his eyes shut and twists his hands some more when another very noisy firecracker goes off.

"Hey Dean," Cas says quietly, and Dean peeks over at him. Cas is biting his lip. "Would you hold my hand? It would make me feel better, I think. I don't wanna get scared."

As if Dean is going to let his best friend feel scared! He grabs both of Cas's hands in his own quickly.

"Duh, Cas, 'course I'll protect you."

"Thank you, Dean," Cas replies seriously.

Neither of them sees the amused look John Winchester and Jimmy Novak share from behind them.

:     :     :     :     :

"Dean, will you be ready to go soon? I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean chuckles at Cas's impatience. He's just as excited about tonight as Castiel is.

Frankly, Dean is flipping ecstatic to finally celebrate with his whole family again. Last year, Jess had gone into an early labor and they all spent the night at the hospital. The year before that, both he and Amelia couldn't get out of work obligations, so no one had really gotten together.

This year, they finally get to be a family again.

It's always felt like one big family to Dean. Ever since they were little, it was like having two sets of parents, two warm homes to share.

By the time they were fourteen and finding out about hormones, Dean had realized there was perhaps another reason why he liked sharing all of his free time with Castiel.

By the time they were eighteen, having spent the past two years officially going on dates, Dean had realized just how much he wanted to keep sharing everything he had with Castiel. How much the words family and Cas and home were synonymous, really.

Dean looks at his freshly trimmed facial hair in the bathroom mirror one last time before exiting into the kitchen of the apartment they share.

Cas is pulling a case of beer from the refrigerator and humming to himself, and Dean absolutely cannot resist planting a kiss on one stubbled cheek.

Sam, Jess, and little Bobby had been the first to arrive bringing a few large blankets. John, Mary, Jimmy, and Amelia had collaborated on the food creation. They brought everything from the hamburgers and fruit salad to the nachos and brownies. That left Dean and Castiel to bring a cooler full of drinks.

They've staked out their usual spot and set up the lovely picnic as per usual for the past two decades.

Dean relaxes on a bright blue blanket with his nephew. He is more than happy to spend this entire evening with all of his favorite people.

His eyes settle on Cas just as his best friend of over twenty amazing years and boyfriend of ten incredible years throws his head back laughing about something Mary has just said.

"It doesn't get any better than this, Bobby," he murmurs to the toddler in his lap.

By the time they've polished off all of the food—Dean was pretty disappointed to find out that there was no pie—the sun had completely set.

Cas had long since joined him on their blanket, but he'd jumped up several times, most recently in order to bring their disposable plates and silverware to a nearby garbage can.

If Dean isn't mistaken, Cas is anxious about something.

He finds out what when Cas—gorgeous, brilliant, and wonderful Cas—asks Dean to come and walk with him for a moment.

Their family stays seated on their blankets while Cas brings Dean by the hand to a spot under a large oak tree just a few feet away and drops to one knee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part one [on tumblr](http://profound-boning.tumblr.com/post/148105209649/)


	2. Part Two

"They're amazing!"

Cas adores watching the fireworks. He loves the ones that twinkle with golden light, the ones that boom white hot against the black sky, the ones that shimmer from blue to green.

"Yeah." Dean twists his hands in his lap. Cas notices the movement and turns to face his best friend.

"Dean?"

When Dean turns his head to meet Cas's eyes, Cas thinks of his own face when they watched 'The Dark Knight' for the first time. Like when you kind of know what's coming next is going to make you jump in your seat, but you're not so afraid you want to run away.

"I'm thinkin' it's a little louder than I thought. Not scary! M'not scared."

"I know that Dean," Cas replies easily. Dean isn't afraid of scary movies or clowns or anything. Cas can't imagine anyone braver than his best friend Dean, who hung upside down on the monkey bars when Fergus Crowley dared him to, who yelled at Cole Trenton when he pushed a pre-schooler into the mud.

The boys sit quietly for another moment. Dean squeezes his eyes shut and twists his hands some more when another very noisy firecracker goes off.

Cas gets an idea.

"Hey Dean," he says quietly and watches one bright green eye pop open. "Would you hold my hand? It would make me feel better, I think. I don't wanna get scared."

Like Cas knew he would, Dean grabs both of Cas's hands in his own quickly.

"Duh, Cas, course I'll protect you."

"Thank you, Dean," Cas replies happily.

Neither of them sees the amused look John Winchester and Jimmy Novak share from behind them.

:     :     :     :     :

"Dean, will you be ready to go soon? I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah." Cas hears from the other side of the bathroom door. He grins and turns to walk down the hall back towards the kitchen.

Their apartment is cozy and beloved. They've been living here since they were twenty and twenty-one, about to begin their third year at KU. They were definitely young and naïve then, but the one thing that they never got wrong was how much they love each other.

Looking back, Cas knows just how lucky they've been. How lucky they were to find each other so early in their lives, to have been honest about their feelings, to explore and grow together.

They've both challenged and supported each other through everything, from Cas's brief but terrible stint into poetry and visual art to Dean's reckless desire to abandon their worldly possessions and live on a sailboat. Through everything, Dean and Cas have always been a team.

Cas pats the ring he can feel in his front pocket.

In a way, this is not at all unexpected. But the significance of Cas proposing to Dean shouldn't be diminished by the number of years they've already spent together. This is still going to be a night to remember, a night to recognize how deeply they cherish one another.

He knows that Dean is almost never happier than when he has every member of their family together, and Cas loves these fireworks more than almost anything else. Tonight just makes sense.

So the butterflies in his stomach are less anxiety over actually asking the question and waiting for the response and more 'I can finally ask him. We can finally do this.'

Cas smiles when he feels a kiss land on his cheek, and straightens up in order to claim another from Dean's mouth.

Perhaps a bit later than originally planned, they unload two coolers from the Impala. They exchange greetings, hugs, and kisses with the multigenerational members of their family.

Dean's first task, of course, is to scoop his little nephew up into his arms. Bobby is almost getting too big to be carried this way, but Cas doubts Dean will ever stop kissing that blonde head of hair and tossing the little boy up into the air.

Cas stuffs his face as a means of keeping his hands occupied. He doesn't want to touch the ring too many times and have Dean see it.

He starts when Mary grasps his shoulder. She gives him a knowing smile and inquires after his students at the elementary school, and he's grateful for the distraction.

Eventually, Cas drifts to the blanket where Dean is sitting so they can eat their meal together. The butterflies are swarming more violently now, but he hopes it's still not too noticeable.

Cas needs to ask him now before the fireworks actually start if he wants Dean to be able to hear him.

Oh God, he's really (finally, finally) going to do this.

"Dean? Would you walk with me please?"

If the furrow between Dean's eyebrows is to be believed, then he is confused but trusting when he rises and takes Cas's hand.

"I know that we've been here many times before. And I know that we already have so much love and happiness in our lives. But I still want one more thing from you, Dean Winchester. Actually maybe more than one thing but—. I'm sorry, I'm blabbering."

Cas lowers himself onto one knee without breaking eye contact. He holds Dean's hands in his and remembers a similar moment, albeit reversed, from all those years ago. He would be embarrassed by how quickly his eyes fill with tears, except that he can see wetness in Dean's eyes, too.

"I have loved you for all of my life, and I will continue to love you more and more every day. We've been through much together, you and I, and now we can take this brand new step together. I would be the luckiest man on Earth to say that I am your husband. I want to bake you pies and rub your feet and steal the blankets from you until the very end. Dean, beloved, will you marry me?"

Dean manages to say, "yes, of course, you sap. Of course I will," before peppering Cas's face with tearful, joyful kisses.

The pie that Dean had been pining for earlier is now revealed as they celebrate with their equally teary-eyed and overjoyed family.

They share yet another kiss under the bright lights, and Cas thinks that this is what the start of forever must feel like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part two [on tumblr](http://profound-boning.tumblr.com/post/148212451289/)


End file.
